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english:pronunciation:sentence-stress

Sentence Stress

What it is: In a sentence, important words are stressed; others are reduced. What it’s for: Better listening and more natural speaking rhythm. Example: “I WANT to BUY a NEW phone.” (main meaning words)

Content vs Function words

  • Content words (stressed): nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs
  • Function words (reduced): a/the, prepositions, auxiliary verbs (do/are/have)

Practice

  • Say it twice:
    1. Slow, clear: “I want to buy a new phone.”
    2. Natural: stress WANT/BUY/NEW/PHONE; reduce “to/a”.

Hard words (Glossary)

  • *reduce* /rɪˈdjuːs/: nói nhẹ/giảm âm
  • *auxiliary* /ɔːɡˈzɪliəri/: trợ động từ
  • *function word* /ˈfʌŋkʃən wɜːd/: từ chức năng (a, the, to…)
english/pronunciation/sentence-stress.txt · Last modified: by phong2018